BUAV welcomes policy by United Airlines to stop monkey shipments

09/01/2013

The BUAV is delighted to announce that United Airlines has now made an official statement that it will no longer transport primates destined for the research industry.

This new policy has been posted on the United Airlines website and states: “We do not book, accept or transport primates to or from medical research facilities.”

For many years, the BUAV has urged United Airlines - which has been one of the last remaining airlines not to have in place a policy on the transport of primates for research –to formally implement a policy stating that it will no longer accept primates for carriage to and from laboratories. We are delighted that the airline has now done so.

United Airlines now joins the BUAV's growing list of major international airlines to take a stance against the cruel business of shipping primates around the world for this purpose. Other airlines include British Airways, Air Canada, Virgin Atlantic, Air China, Northwest Airlines, Qantas, South African Airways, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Eva Air and China Airlines.

The BUAV has, over the years, led the campaign to end the international transportation of primates for research. Our hard-hitting investigations and research continues to uncover the cruelty and suffering inflicted on primates in the trapping fields, on farms and in laboratories.

In December we were delighted to report that the Canadian Transportation Authority upheld Air Canada's decision to stop transporting primates. The decision by Air Canada was in the wake of the public outcry that followed BUAV exposing the airline's role in transprting primates from China to Canada in 2011.

Please support the BUAV Cargo Cruelty campaign and urge the remaining few airlines to finally cease their involvement in this barbaric trade. Those major airlines that continue to fly primates for research include Air France, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines.